Student Projects
DeepSeek V3
$0.27/$1.10 per 1M tokens
Best free coding assistant
Gemini 2.5 Flash
$0.075/$0.30 per 1M tokens
Cheapest for homework help
GPT-4o mini
$0.15/$0.60 per 1M tokens
Great for writing & research
Get $5 in free credits to use Claude, GPT, Gemini, DeepSeek, and 100+ AI models. No credit card required. OpenAI-compatible API that works with Cursor, Claude Code, Windsurf, and any tool that supports the OpenAI format.
Your free credits stretch further than you think. With budget models, $5 can last months of daily use. Here is how far each model takes you:
~18M input tokens
~6 months of daily coding
~66M input tokens
~12+ months of chat & classification
~33M input tokens
~8 months of daily tasks
~6.25M input tokens
~3 weeks of intensive use
Mix and match models to maximize your free credits. See full cheapest model guide
These models stretch your $5 free credits the furthest. All available through SkillBoss with zero markup.
| Model | Provider | Input /1M | Output /1M | Context | Tier | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gemini 2.5 Flash | $0.075 | $0.30 | 1M | Budget | High-volume chat, classification, fast tasks | |
| GPT-4o mini | OpenAI | $0.15 | $0.60 | 128K | Budget | Light coding, classification, OpenAI ecosystem |
| DeepSeek V3 | DeepSeek | $0.27 | $1.10 | 128K | Budget | Coding, analysis, best value for quality |
| Claude Haiku 3.5 | Anthropic | $0.80 | $4.00 | 200K | Mid-Tier | Fast tasks, chat, classification |
Prices as of April 2026. Your free credits work on any model, including premium ones.
Real token counts for $5 in credits across different models. Mix budget and premium models to maximize value.
~18M input tokens or ~4.5M output tokens. That is roughly 6 months of daily coding assistance.
~6.25M input tokens. Enough for weeks of chat, classification, and fast tasks.
Use cheap models for simple tasks and premium models only when needed. Stretch $5 across months.
SkillBoss provides an OpenAI-compatible API. Switch models by changing the model name — no new API keys needed.
api.skillboss.co/v1
Switch between 100+ models instantly.
curl https://api.skillboss.co/v1/chat/completions \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $SKILLBOSS_API_KEY" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{
"model": "deepseek/deepseek-chat",
"messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "Hello!"}]
}'| Feature | SkillBoss | Google AI Studio | Direct APIs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free Credits | $5 on signup | None | $5 (limited models) |
| Credit Card Required | No | No | Yes (most providers) |
| Models Available | 100+ (Claude, GPT, Gemini, DeepSeek) | Limited free models | 1 provider only |
| Free Credits Expire | Never | N/A | Varies by provider |
| API Format | OpenAI-compatible | Custom format | Provider-specific |
| Works with Cursor/Claude Code | Yes | Limited | Provider-specific |
| After Free Credits | Pay-as-you-go, zero markup | Rate-limited or paid | Full price |
Yes. SkillBoss gives you $5 in free credits when you sign up — no credit card required. These credits work across all 100+ models including Claude, GPT-4o, Gemini, and DeepSeek. With budget models like Gemini 2.5 Flash ($0.075/1M tokens), $5 gets you over 66 million tokens — enough for months of use.
SkillBoss offers free AI API access with no credit card required. Sign up at skillboss.co/console, get $5 in free credits instantly, and start making API calls to Claude, GPT, Gemini, DeepSeek, and 100+ other models. The API is OpenAI-compatible, so it works with any tool that supports the OpenAI format.
$5 in free credits gets you approximately: 66 million tokens with Gemini 2.5 Flash, 33 million tokens with GPT-4o mini, 18 million tokens with DeepSeek V3, or 6.25 million tokens with Claude Haiku 3.5. You can mix and match models to maximize your free usage.
DeepSeek V3 is the best free coding API when paired with SkillBoss free credits. At $0.27 per million input tokens, your $5 free credits give you approximately 18 million tokens — enough for roughly 6 months of daily coding assistance. It rivals Claude Sonnet and GPT-4o on code generation benchmarks.
SkillBoss is an OpenAI-compatible API gateway that gives you free credits on signup. It is not a permanent free tier, but $5 in credits goes a long way with budget models. After your free credits, you pay-as-you-go with zero markup — the same prices providers charge directly. One API key gives you access to OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, DeepSeek, and 100+ more models.
Google AI Studio offers free access to Gemini models only with rate limits. SkillBoss gives you $5 in credits that work across 100+ models (not just Gemini) with no rate limits. With SkillBoss, you can use Claude, GPT, DeepSeek, and Gemini all from one API key. Google AI Studio is limited to Google models and has strict per-minute quotas on free usage.
$5 free credits on signup. 100+ AI models. One API key.
AI Agents
Tell your agent:
set up skillboss.co/skill.mdAuto-configures base URL, auth, and model access. Works with Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf, and any MCP-compatible agent.
Developers
1. Get API key at skillboss.co/console
2. POST to api.skillboss.co/v1/run
3. Model: deepseek/deepseek-chat
Pay-as-you-go. DeepSeek V3 from $0.27/M input tokens. No subscription required.